European patent application EP 0 740 112 A1 describes an operating and display device having a setting element and a monitor, intended for operating several household appliances that are connected so as to communicate with each other. Here, in a first step, the household appliance to be operated is selected, after which the settings can be implemented. Each setting option is associated with a corresponding display, whereby each setting appears on the monitor according to a display position. The operating and display device can be integrated into one of the household appliances that are connected so as to communicate with each other.
International patent application WO 2004/052167 A1 describes a display device that can show data about the status of a household appliance, for example, a dishwasher, such as the remaining running time and/or the program status. The display device is configured separately from the dishwasher and can be operated remotely from it. The data is transmitted via a data-transfer system that can run on the household power supply network. When several household appliances are in operation, an operating element is employed to select the household appliance whose status data is output or displayed on the remote display device.
European patent application EP 0 898 003 A2 describes an operating and display device for a washing machine that comprises a display with several lines that serve to show programs or program parameters that can be selected. The selection is made by means of an operating element that corresponds to the depiction or to the display elements in the display, whereby the selected program or parameter is activated by an additional entry, for instance, by pressing an “Enter” button. The display is particularly well-suited for showing selectable programs in plain text.
Therefore, it is described in the state of the art to employ an operating and display device in order to select the settings or operating programs and/or parameters for one or more household appliances that are connected so as to communicate with each other. In order to centrally obtain information about the statuses of all of the household appliances, a centrally arranged display is known that shows the statuses of the connected household appliances. Here, it is necessary to select the household appliance that is to be monitored, or else an autonomous display appears when a status has been set in a household appliance that requires action on the part of the operator. This type of display is often felt to be confusing or else the selection of the household appliance that is to be monitored is felt to be awkward.